Beauty Of Life
by StSE
Summary: Sequel to Beauty Within. First Aid and Bee want to become parents, so does Cliffjumper and Flare-up. Can they work a deal? And can Elita figure out how to get the dancers to fall in line? Ironhide tries to impress but the twins thwart him at every turn!
1. Chapter 1

_**Forward: **I moved the final chapter over from Beauty Within, since it was introducing this sequel. Enjoy, there's so much humor to come..._

**Trying to Fit in..**

"I can't do this Prime, I can't!" Elita One cried as she buried her head in her hands. The stress of dealing with the five former prostitutes was driving her to glitches. Their continual, flippant, obscene jokes and comments.. Their flagrant disregard for procedures.. Their total lack of proper respect towards the mechs around them..

Optimus put his arm around his bond mate. "You can do it Elita. You've faced the cons in battle. This is nothing compared to that," he consoled. Sometimes it was just difficult for a leader to get the troop dynamics under control, but you could do it if you worked hard enough at it. He had faith in her.

Elita snorted in derision, "I'd rather face Megatron alone and unarmed than have to go back on shift with those five." Her blue optics bore into Prime's, assuring him that she meant every single word of that.

Sitting down, Prime stared out the viewing portal at the stars. He had known that there might be a few difficulties in blending the five former hookers into the Autobot ranks, but after standing besides them in that one battle, he knew it'd be worth the trouble in the end. But Elita was apparently being pushed to her edge, and he'd hate to end up seeing the femme chasing the other five around with her laser set on high. What should he do? Perhaps he should assign some mechs to help train them? They did seem to show the mechs a tad more respect than they showed femmes. Granted, even that wasn't much. It was like these former dancers didn't even know what the word respect even meant..

"Tell you what Elita. I'll assign Ironhide, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Brawn and Ultra Magnus to help you out. Just partner each femme with one of them and let the mech force their partner to follow orders," he offered.

Elita's weary face lit up. "Thanks Optimus," she said softly. Sitting down next to him, she snuggled tightly against his side. The warmth of love radiated through her chassis as the big mech put his arm around her. Enjoying the peace and quiet, they watched the stars together…

--

"Hey First Aid, you busy?" Flare-up asked as she walked into his med bay.

Just finishing up building another set of cabinets to store supplies on, the white medic looked up. Smiling at his friend, he shook his head. "I've got some time, what's up?" he asked.

Just as she was starting to say something, Bumblebee danced into the med bay. His face was beaming in excitement. Not even pausing to consider the fact that Flare-up was there, he waltzed up and planted a huge kiss on his bond mate.

"Wow! What'd I do to deserve that?!" First Aid stammered in surprise as the yellow mech released his lips.

"I gotta raise," Bumblebee announced proudly.

"Well congratulations!" Flare-up told him.

Looking over at her, Bumblebee acted as if he hadn't realized she was there before. But unperturbed, he grabbed the small femme friend of his and whirled her around in a big hug.

As he set her down, she cocked her head and gave him a curious look. "You're awful excited over a little raise Bee," she accused jokingly.

"Well, you've got to understand. We need the funds so that we can figure out how to have a sparkling!" Bumblebee informed her. His blue optics were bright in excitement as he glanced at his bond mate.

First Aid looked sheepishly down at the floor. Sure they'd been discussing this topic in private for quite some time, but he wasn't really ready to go around announcing it to the whole Galaxy.

"You too!?" Flare-up exclaimed, her optics widening in excitement. "Heck, I came here to ask First Aid how much we needed to save up for him to build the chassis," she told them.

Bumblebee and First Aid grinned at each other and her. So both couples were wanting to have sparklings at the same time, huh? Then they could raise the youngsters as almost siblings – it'd be great!

But the two males had a problem. Although they could combine their sparks, neither one was built to carry the resulting sparkling to term. They were going to have to find a surrogate femme to do that. But having five very close femme friends, they figured they could work something out….

On the other hand, Cliffjumper and Flare-up also had a problem. Purchasing the initial chassis for the sparkling was a very expensive proposition. They had to be built to very specific requirements and only Ratchet, Wheeljack and now First Aid could do it. But the parts were the highest part of the total cost. But the pair were hopeful they could work out some long term payment plan with their good friend First Aid….

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This is the prelude to the sequal: /s/4537886/1/BeautyOfLife (go figure, won't show full url..just put the '' in front of it) .. There will be lots of sparkling cuteness, fluff, humor and practical jokes in **Beauty Of Life **so enjoy... I took a lot of your ideas for this one...

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Please review…


	2. Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood

**Planned Parenthood**

"Tonight's the night for the meeting," Bumblebee said excitedly as he checked his mate over for any scuff marks.

"Do you think Cliffjumper will have a problem with it? I mean, we're really asking a lot from those two," the white mech asked. He shifted nervously from foot-to-foot. It would be the perfect situation though, wouldn't it? After all, they were best friends with the other couple. They even lived in quarters right next to each other. And they had planned to raise their sparklings as almost siblings.

"I think we can talk them into it. After all, we know they don't have the funds for a chassis – but we have enough for two. I think Flare-up will be warm to the idea of being a surrogate," Bumblebee assured him. Turning around, he waited patiently as the white mech buffed out the few scratches on his back.

"True, but Flare-up's not like a typical femme you know…" First Aid stammered. Tears filled his optics as he thought about how he'd feel if Cliffjumper said no to the proposition. He just couldn't handle it. He so wanted a sparkling who'd look up at him with innocent love in it's optics..

Bumblebee heard the fear in his voice. Turning around he pulled his mate into his arms. "None of our femme friends are 'typical'. Even if this deal doesn't work out, I'm sure we can talk one of our other friends into being a surrogate," he said softly.

First Aid chewed on his lip in nervousness. "But what if they all say no Bee? It's a lot of responsibility," he said. Tears filled his optics. He wished he was a femme then they wouldn't have to beg one of them to carry their sparkling to term.

"It's a lot, but I'm sure one of them will agree to it First Aid. They all love you to death," he assured him.

"You, not me," First Aid corrected him. Bee was the popular one. And although First Aid was no longer the grotesque mech he once was, his insecurities and subtle self-consciousness were still very real.

Bee kissed him, silencing his fearful comments. He wished that the new chassis had given his bond mate a little more confidence in himself. But even though First Aid was just as good as a medic as Ratchet now, the mech still idolized the older medic like a god. Always finding his own skills wanting in comparison to Ratchet's.. Not to mention the fact that Ratchet was able to fire a gun when his back was up against a wall.. First Aid still couldn't even bear to touch a gun, much less even contemplate firing one! This just added to his insecurities about his value to the Autobots.

"We'll have our sparkling First Aid, don't worry," Bee promised softly as he pulled away from his mate…

--

Cliffjumper paced back and forth, grinding his jaws in anxiety. "But it's so much that we're asking of him, Flare-up. I don't know if he can spot us that much creds," he bemoaned.

Flare-up sighed; sometimes she wished they were organic creatures. Then they wouldn't have to figure out how to come up with the funds to purchase a chassis for a sparkling. It was so expensive that it would take many orbit cycles for them to save it. But if they could talk First Aid into giving them some kind of payment plan, they could go ahead and start the process of creating a sparkling. She could have First Aid activate her portal core systems. She could get pregnant…She desperately hoped that they could work something out with their good friend. They so desperately wanted a sparkling..

"I'm sure we can work out something Cliffjumper," she said. Grabbing his arm, she forced her agitated bond mate to quit pacing so that she could look him over for scuff marks. It wouldn't look good to look like slobs when they were trying to convince their friend that they were ready for the responsibility of parenthood, now would it?

"Primus, I hope so. I don't want to wait forever," he said sullenly. Sure, it'd be more responsible to wait until they could fully pay for a chassis. But that'd take so long to save up for – heck, they'd be as old as Kup! He didn't want to wait that long. He wanted to have a sparkling while he was young. And since Flare-up said that Bumblebee and First Aid were also talking about having one, it'd be perfect timing! If the Sparklings were of similar ages, they could be raised as almost siblings.

Yes, it'd be perfect that way! Then if one of the young couples was feeling overwhelmed, the other couple could sparklingsit so that they could go out. Get away for a little while. And if Bumblebee and Cliffjumper were both activated to the frontlines at the same time – then First Aid and Flare-up could be each other's support.

It was kind've cool that Cliffjumper knew for certain that his best friends had absolutely no interest in femmes. It was great not being jealous in the least when his bond mate was hanging out with either of them. Heck, if it worked out – then they'd be like a big happy family together! With the sparklings thinking of each other as more like siblings, than just friends..

Flare-up gave him a hug, a gleam was in her optics. "You know what? I just thought of something," she said softly.

"What's that?" Cliffjumper asked. He started to check her chassis over for scuff marks now.

"Well, since First Aid and Bumblebee are both mechs – they need a surrogate don't they?" she said. A mischievous smile began to spread over her face.

"Uh, ya, guess so," he answered, not really having a clue as to why she was bringing that fact up.

"Well, aren't surrogates about as expensive to 'hire' as a sparkling chassis is to purchase?" she said slyly.

A light bulb seemed to click on in Cliffjumper's meta. Sloggers, the femme was right. Perhaps.. Perhaps they'd consider some kind of trade?? Was this what Flare-up was hinting at? It was a lot to ask of her, but heck, if it was her idea.. Then they wouldn't have to wait long, and they wouldn't be in debt up to their audios either. "You'd be willing to be a surrogate for them?" he asked her.

"You wouldn't be jealous if I did that?" she asked incredulously.

Cliffjumper shrugged, "Heck, if either one was even the least little bit interested in femmes, don't you think that one of you would've actually convinced them to have a threesome at least once?" He had finally gotten used to how the former prostitutes considered bonding. It no longer bothered him much that they were so flippant about it. Well, as long as Flare-up's jokes were all about past clients that is… He wasn't about to ever 'share her' again like that. But being a surrogate was different. It wasn't truly bonding. The two mechs would bond and then transfer the sparkling into her for her to carry it to term.

Flare-up laughed, she was happy she'd found a mech that would accept her for what she'd once been. Made life so much easier for her! "You've got a point my love.. Chromia's been trying to convince them to try that for many, many orbit cycles!!"

Cliffjumper gave her a happy smile. Surely they could convince their friends to agree to the trade. It would be good for all of them. Flare-up could be a surrogate and then carry their own sparkling right afterward. Sure, she'd be slightly worn out afterward. But they weren't intending to have any more sparklings in the foreseeable future. So First Aid could just shut off the net to her portal core afterward….

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_**Note: **A little 'teaser' of what's to come. I'll work on this one more as I finish publishing Face Thy Fears..._

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Please review…


	3. A Deal for Life

A Deal for Life

**A Deal for Life**

"Hey guys, how's it going?" Cliffjumper said as the mech couple was shown to their table by the bartender. He kept his hands under the table, nervously drumming them against the armor on his knees.

"Um, pretty good. Uh, and you?" First Aid replied. The somewhat shy mech looked rather sheepishly up at Cliffjumper. He was thankful that he still wore a facemask, for he couldn't stop his damned lower lip from trembling in nervousness. Primus, he prayed that his friends would say yes… Please say yes..

Flare-up glanced at the two mechs, grinning inside as she saw the nervousness they were both doing such a horrible job in hiding. Mechs were so easy for a sharp femme to read. So much easier than dealing with sneaky and conniving femmes! Standing up, she gave Bee a big welcoming hug. "Looking good as always," she complimented. Her grin widened slightly as her yellow friend blushed slightly at her compliment. Nodding for him to take the seat next to her, she plopped herself back down.

Her audios picked up the annoying sound of Cliffjumper drumming his fingers nervously against his knee armor. Giving him a sharp glance, she grabbed his fingers with hers and forced him to quit. The bartender came back around to get their order. Flare-up smiled up at him and ordered a round of energon for the whole table. Sighing inside, she sure hoped it'd help break this strange awkwardness that the friends were currently suffering from.

"So you guys want to have a sparkling too?" she asked as she broke the awkward silence.

Someone had to, so it might as well be her – huh?

Bumblebee grinned as First Aid's color deepened several shades. Flare-up darn well knew they'd been wanting too, but it seemed like a good opener. "Yep, and you two?" he asked politely, even though he knew the answer.

She grinned as she put her free arm around him. "Yep, isn't this great guys? We'll have so much fun raising them together don't ya think?" Her bright blue optics locked with Bee's. His matched hers in brightness.

"It will be so cool don't you think First Aid?" Bumblebee said as he naturally fell into her scheme of loosening the tension. His blue optics gleamed in understanding as he briefly met hers.

For a while the two couples discussed all their ideas for raising sparklings. All the fun they thought they would have. All the things they could do together as a big 'extended' family of sorts. Their dreams… Their desires… Their hopes… Their plans.. It amazed both couples of just how similar all of their thoughts about parenthood were. Slowly, the awkwardness washed completely away as the couples began to joke about possible bloopers and embarrassing things that sparklings were notorious for putting their parents through.

Well, eventually the discussion turned to the topic that both couples had come here to discuss in the first place: How each couple was going to actually have a sparkling.

"Well, um, you know how expensive it's going to be to purchase the chassis First Aid. Um, is there anyway we could work something out?" Cliffjumper said. His nervousness came right back as shown by his drumming fingers starting back up on his knee armor.

Bumblebee and First Aid looked at each other. How should they broach the subject? Just how in the heck does a mech ask his buddy if it'd be ok for that buddy's bond mate to carry his sparkling to term? It was an awkward thing to ask anyone, no matter how well you knew the mech.

"Um, I guess we could try and work something out Cliffjumper. What kind of deal are you thinking about?" First Aid stammered nervously. He began to twist his hands together under the table, still not sure about how to approach Cliffjumper about Flare-up.

Flare-up leaned forward putting her chin on her hands as she scanned First Aid with her brilliant optics. "So who have you mechs contracted to be your surrogate?" she asked.

First Aid looked sheepishly down at his lap.

Bumblebee put his best smile on as her optics came to rest on him. "Well, we actually haven't approached any femme yet. Do you have someone you'd recommend?" he asked.

Cliffjumper's core leapt in happiness, if they hadn't contracted with a femme yet, then they needed one! This deal might work.. It'd be perfect! Perfect!

Keeping her cool, Flare-up smiled warmly at her yellow friend. "I'd recommend the one sitting next to you, if it was me," she joked.

The white mech across from her fell over in a dead faint. This was not what he'd expected at all! For the femme to actually recommend herself! His meta was so overwhelmed it just simply shut down. He slid out of his chair as he went completely limp, ending up on the floor with a clang of metal plating. The other three looked at each other with their mouths agape for a second. Then they sprang up and picked their unconscious friend up off the floor. Getting him back in his chair, Bee and Flare-up shook him slightly and slapped his face lightly, trying to get him to reboot.

His optics slowly brightened and he looked up at Flare-up standing next to him with dazed optics. "Are you ok?" she asked him.

He gave her a dazed smile. "You're an angel. An absolute angel," he told her. "Thanks," he added as he wrapped his arms around her. "Thanks so much!"

Cliffjumper looked over the pair and met Bumblebee's optics. "So it's a deal then? She'll be your surrogate and First Aid will make us the chassis in payment?" he asked; his optics full of hope.

Bumblebee moved around First Aid's chair and pulled his old friend into a big hug. "Deal," he confirmed. His blue optics were now so bright with happiness that they matched Cybertron's star. He looked at his bond mate who was spinning the small femme friend of theirs around in complete joy. Perhaps having the sparkling would give First Aid the confidence in himself that he was missing.. Maybe he'd finally realize he was just as valued as every other Autobot?

--

"Sorry I'm late," Flare-up said as she fell into what the dancers considered 'formation'; which was far from what the Autobot military considered 'formation'.

Elita One silently glared at the young femme, her tolerance already well past it's breaking point. She was so sick and tired of dealing with these five obnoxious femmes. Their dirty language, their obscene jokes.. They were so 'raw' she didn't know how she'd ever teach them to act like 'proper' Cybertronian femmes. "Why are you late soldier?" she demanded to know.

Before the young femme could answer, five mechs came marching over.

"Optimus assigned us to your training ranks temporarily," Ultra Magnus announced. His optics scanned the disorderly 'formation' with disgust. Optimus had warned him that he thought Elita might be in over her head with this bunch of 'recruits'. But the femmes had more than proven themselves in battle, so Prime was determined to find some way to get them to settle down. If it took his most experienced mechs helping Elita to do it – so be it. And Ultra Magnus had completely agreed with that idea. There was no way he'd be 'pushed around' by a handful of femmes!

"There is a Primus…" Elita muttered under her breath as she felt her tension lighten up a bit. "Fall in next to a femme and show her how a proper formation is supposed to be," she ordered the mechs.

Swiftly, they fell into a perfectly symmetrical formation, each one grabbing the femme's arm next to him and dragging her into a correct position. Then they straightened into attention. Several of them had to elbow the femme next to them to do the same. The femmes just silently glared at the mechs as they were forced to show some 'discipline'.

Elita walked back in front of her now orderly ranks and looked at them in approval. Perhaps with the mechs' help she'd actually get these darned whores to do something right for a change. But her optics stopped on the youngest one, the slacker. Now she was going to thoroughly embarrass the young femme! "Now Flare-up, are you going to tell us why you were late?" she ordered more than asked.

Instead of being embarrassed as everyone looked at her, the young femme absolutely beamed. "We stayed up late making a deal with First Aid. I'm going to be his surrogate, and he's going to make my sparkling's chassis," she proudly announced.

Suddenly, every femme left her position in the formation. Completely ignoring their commander and the hardened mech soldiers that were glaring at them, they surrounded the young femme giving her their congratulations.

Elita just stood there, her mouth hanging open in amazement at their total lack of respect to her. Ultra Magnus saw that look in her optics, and shaking his head, he waited for her to blow. He and the other mechs didn't shift positions as they gave knowing glances to each other.

"Get back into formation now!" Elita barked - And was completely and totally ignored by the five femmes.

Ultra Magnus cleared his throat and walked over to the circle of chattering femmes. The imposing male grabbed the arms of two of them, just as Sunstreaker and Ironhide grabbed the arms of the others. They physically dragged them back into their positions.

"So'd you demand a three-way as partial payment?" Arcee asked loudly as Ironhide forced her to stand at attention next to him. She couldn't help but snicker as the mech's face turned as red as his paint job as he silently stood there.

"There will be no more conversing about sparklings!" Elita ordered, her optics aflame in barely held anger. How these femmes could be this disrespectful!? It blew her meta..

"Sloggers, honey, I would've gone for a four way. Fit little Cliffy in there somewhere," Chromia mumbled under her breath, but making sure that everyone couldn't help but to hear her. Her optics gleamed in mischief as she noticed the Autobot femme getting madder and madder by the astrosecond. She had little respect for the femme – since she could tell from the second they met that the Autobot merely considered them a pack of whores. So it had become a rather entertaining game to continually cause Elita to be shocked and embarrassed. Hell, if the Autobot thought she could just automatically get their 'respect' just because she was an Autobot – she had a hard lesson to learn!

At that comment, all of the mechs turned a deeper shade, with the exception of Sideswipe. He was glancing at the femmes in total amusement.

"They wouldn't go for it, I tried," Flare-up blatantly lied. All the other dancers knew she was lying, but none of the Autobots did. They looked at each other in total shock, believing her every word.

"Too bad, that little Bee is sure a cutie," Chromia chuckled. Several of her femmes made approving sounds to her statement. A few even smacked their lips in emphasis.

Elita stood there fuming. Even with the mech's holding the damned femmes into a semblance of a formation, they were still managing to be totally disruptive. "All of you need to just shut up!" she ordered.

"Ah, Elita, have you ever done a threesome?" Arcee asked. Her optics gleamed in mischief as she cocked her head in 'curiosity'.

Taking her pink friend's lead, Moonracer couldn't help but chuckle, "It sure is fun," she added.

"And sloggers, the things you could do with a mech Prime's size…" Firestar added. All of the former dancers hmm'd their agreement on that statement.

Elita turned a bright shade that matched her paint. She was speechless at the audacity and forwardness of these femmes.

Sideswipe's grin was getting bigger by the moment. Boy, the pranks he could play with femmes like this to help him. He and his twin exchanged a glance, Sunstreaker thinking along similar lines. "Nah, the big mechs can't do what we can," he informed the femmes.

"Don't have the flexibility, do they?" Sunstreaker added, now beginning to thoroughly enjoy this verbal sparring match with the femmes. These femmes were going to be fun to train with – that's for sure.

"I heard ya'll two were players back before the war, now I believe the rumors!" Ironhide drawled. He still had a blush on his face, and couldn't quite look the light blue femme in the optics. This conversation went far beyond what even friends normally talked about. But though it was embarrassing, it was fun as hell to listen to these femmes joke. And the fact that Chromia was obviously the type that a mech had to earn her respect, made the dominant femme even more irresistible to him. He hated the brown olfactory sensoring types with a passion.

"We'll have to see just what kind of 'players' you really are sometime, huh girls?" Chromia joked as she scanned the twins with critical optics. Most younger males bragged about things they'd never done. It'd be interesting to see if it was boast or truth.

With that, Elita One threw up her hand in disgust and marched off - Leaving the 'training unit' to look at each other in amusement.

"Guess she can't handle a little humor?" Chromia chuckled as she watched the femme march off. Her optics gleamed in triumph over the clueless Autobot femme. Elita just THOUGHT she was tough! She wouldn't last a day cycle working the mean streets of the metropolis.. Not a single day cycle!

Ultra Magnus had finally had enough. He moved to stand in front of the light blue femme. With his finger in her face he began to drill her about etiquette and respect. For five whole minutes he lectured her and the other femmes. Finally finished, he put his hands on his hip armor and ordered them back into their positions.

None of the mechs noticed the sly glances passing from femme-to-femme. The slight arching of optic ridges, the slightest of nods going between them… They didn't realize that the subtle gleam in the five femme's optics meant trouble.. The cues that the dancers used to silently communicate were so well-practiced from the hard streets of the metropolis that the femmes could smoothly work mechs together… They knew how to handle mechs.. And they didn't like being lectured like sparklings - especially their leader, Chromia. So the femmes now considered it a challenge to catch Ultra Magnus completely off-guard; just as they had done to that Autobot femme who seemed to be a touch too big for her tailpipes in their not-so-humble opinion.

While the four mechs got into their positions within the original formation, the femmes did not quite do that. They did move to the places they'd been dragged to by the mechs, but they didn't quite stand at traditional military attention. Firestar turned around and bent over, Arcee laid on the ground on her back, Flare-up lay on the ground on her stomach, and Moonracer kneeled. With a completely straight face, Chromia asked him what position he preferred; after all, they did 'respect' his opinion on that topic.

Ultra Magnus, Ironhide and Brawn all turned a similar deep shade of gray. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker fell on the ground in shrieks of laughter….

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Please review..


	4. Training with the Mechs

Training With the Mechs

**Training With the Mechs**

"How's it going Ultra Magnus?" Optimus said as he strolled over. His optics scanned the troops that were currently busy with target practice. Everything seemed all business, with the femmes and their mech 'partners' working well together.

"Well, since I brought Bluestreak in, I just tell them all to get here thirty astrominutes early. Seems to get the verbal sparring out of their systems for a while," he informed Prime. He wondered if Elita had told him what the femmes had said about him and threesomes. But looking at his old friend, he figured that she hadn't, for he probably wouldn't want to be around the femmes for a while if he knew. Granted, Ultra Magnus had started wondering if their comments were based on facts, for he was bigger than Prime… Shaking his head slightly, he brought himself back into reality. He shouldn't be having thoughts like that while he was supervising them.

"So are they really as bad as Elita claims?" the big red mech asked as he turned towards Ultra Magnus. He arched one of his optic ridges, knowing that his old friend wouldn't energon-coat anything. Granted, the femmes did APPEAR to be doing well in training from what he was currently observing….

Shrugging, Magnus nodded. "You have to keep a sense of humor around them. If you take anything personal, it'll drive you to glitches," he explained.

Optimus sighed; it'd taken him several day cycles to calm his mate down after she had stormed off the training grounds. What the femmes had said, she wouldn't say. But if Ultra Magnus was mentioning that a commander HAD to keep a sense of humor around them – they must be a handful. And though he loved Elita with all his spark, she wasn't known for her sense of humor. "So just what did they say to set Elita off like that?" he asked Ultra Magnus.

The blue mech scanned his friend with his optics, wondering if he should tell him. But before he could, Chromia and Sideswipe marched up to them. Ultra Magnus groaned inside, if there was one femme that shouldn't be around Prime, it was her. She was beyond blunt. Only Sideswipe seemed to be able to handle her side comments with ease, although it was obvious that Ironhide was enthralled by her. Why that was – Magnus couldn't even begin to fathom! So he'd assigned Sideswipe as her partner and Ironhide got the bubbly Moonracer for his. He had enough problems with this unit; he didn't need to be dealing with any of them getting romantically involved!

"Hey Prime, checking on our progress?" Sideswipe joked. He snickered something under his breath to the light blue femme, who gave him a knowing grin in return.

Optimus nodded, finding himself locking optics with the bold blue femme. In a sense, she reminded him of Elita in battle - Totally fearless and willing to sacrifice herself to help a friend. But off the battlefield, he'd heard she was a bit of a fire ball. A very dominant femme that didn't take any slack off any mech – or femme for that matter! He figured that she was the main problem with Elita and the femmes. Since Elita also tended to be very dominant, and being the femme commander she'd simply expect everyone to follow her orders without question. With an internal sigh, Prime wondered if these two femmes would ever learn to at least tolerate each other.. But he might as well find out what she'd said to set Elita off. "I need to ask you something Chromia," he said.

"Go for it," she replied with a big smile.

Ultra Magnus shifted nervously, knowing that Prime was going to find out what had been said. He didn't know how the mech would take those type of comments. He tried to give Chromia a look that conferred his wish for her to just shut up and go back to training – but she pointedly ignored it. Sideswipe noticed it and just gave him a slight nod and knowing smirk. The big blue mech grimaced, he knew Sideswipe would just LOVE it to see Prime blush in embarrassment when the femme flat-out told him what she could do with him in a threesome.. He probably even had a hidden camera on him, just waiting for a picture of an embarrassed Optimus to post on the web.

"What did you say to Elita last time you saw her?" Prime asked the femme. He cocked his head in interest as he studied her.

Even Sideswipe shifted a little bit as he waited for his partner to answer. Probably to get a better angle for his notorious hidden camera, but Ultra Magnus had to give it to the mech – he was keeping a damned good poker face on.

Chromia smiled warmly, she knew how femmes tended to work the mechs, and she was a true master at the art. "Well, when Flare-up announced that she was going to have sparklings. We mentioned what an impressive mech you were. Perhaps you should consider doing the same?" she blatantly lied.

But it worked, Prime took it as a compliment even though he blushed a little at the forwardness of it. "Oh, um, really?" he stammered slightly, his composure totally lost. Considering that Elita was a little afraid to get pregnant, it made sense that she'd blow up on the femmes for telling her that she should. But did the femmes really consider HIM an 'impressive' mech? He was a little taken aback. It was a heck of a compliment to be sure..

"Really," she stated as a fact, "you'd sire some great sparklings." She even had the nerve to wink at him.

Blushing at her directness, Optimus turned his optics away from the femme. He didn't dare continue this conversation, for he'd heard just how 'detailed' these former dancers could get when it came to the topics of bonding and reproduction. Deciding his best move was to leave while he was 'ahead', Optimus turned to leave. "Return to training," he ordered, and he walked away as fast as he could while still maintaining some of his dignity.

"You're a sloggin' liar!" Ultra Magnus growled at her after Prime was out of audio range. Although he was greatly relieved that she HAD lied – he could not officially approve of her act of lying straight to the face of her commanding officer!

Chromia merely shrugged, "I told him what he wanted to hear. Did you really want me to start comparing what I know certain big mechs could do in a threesome? Especially when you're bigger than he is.. hmmm?" She cocked her head as she gave him an amused look. Then she made a point to scan his chassis very, very slowly as she licked her lips.

Ultra Magnus sighed in resignation and shook his head, "You've got a point. Get back to training," he ordered. He shook his head in disbelief as the blue femme and shorter red mech walked back to their position on the firing line. These femmes could work the mechs so darned easily, it was unbelievable!

--

"How's it coming?" Bumblebee asked as he came into their quarters.

Cliffjumper and First Aid looked over at him, smiles on their faces. They had managed to strip off all the sheet metal from the wall's two sides, and were slowly working to remove its framework. This was the wall that separated the two couple's quarters from each other. And together they'd decided to remove it, build two more walls with doors on each side, and have the sparklings' room in-between their quarters. This way the two sparklings could share a room and still have free range of both quarters.

"Getting the demolition almost done, but we'll have to wait until we're completely done before we start building the new walls," Cliffjumper said. He rubbed his forehead, metallic shavings coating his armor.

Both quarters were a mess, with Bumblebee's taking the worst of it because of where their berth room had been positioned. Now they didn't have one until the new room was finished.

"So where'd you two move our berth?" he asked. His optics scanned the mess that was their quarters, wondering just where in the devil he was going to lay down comfortably and shut down.

"Oh that? Well we stuffed it into their room. It was a tight fit, but it fit," First Aid explained. He hoped he was right that Bee wouldn't care. But they couldn't think of anywhere else to put it.

Bumblebee considered this. So just where was he and First Aid supposed to defrag while the construction was going on? "So where're we going to defrag?" he asked his bond mate.

The white mech and red mech looked at each other and then back at Bumblebee. "Well, with them," First Aid said as he nodded towards Cliffjumper.

Cliffjumper grinned and shrugged, "Heck, figured after all that time running from mine-to-mine and defraggin' almost on top of each other.. It wouldn't be a big deal." Heck, they'd even bonded with their mates in the same cavern hadn't they? So a lack of privacy for a few day cycles shouldn't be that big of a deal…

Well, if his mate and Cliffjumper didn't seem to mind, why should Bumblebee? He knew for certain that Flare-up wouldn't care in the least. And since he was totally exhausted, Bumblebee merely nodded as he slipped between the wall's exposed beams and disappeared into Cliffjumper's berth room.

"Guess he doesn't care either," the red mech joked to his friend.

"Told you he wouldn't," First Aid said as he smiled. Bumblebee was so laid back about stuff, he knew there probably wouldn't be an issue.

Cliffjumper snickered as he began to strip the rivets out of the beams so that they could disconnect them. "Now if we can just stand Flare-up's jokes about foursomes, we'll all get some quality defrag," he joked.

First Aid merely nodded. He knew the femmes thought it was hysterical that neither he or Bumblebee were the least bit interested, but he'd gotten so used to their jokes about their 'offers' that it was second nature to ignore them…

--

Please review..


	5. Ideas

Ideas

**Ideas**

"It's beautiful isn't it Prime?" Elita sighed as she leaned back and snuggled into the big mech. Her blue optics stared up at the new solar tower that had just been completed. The glittering stars of the background silhouetted the elegant collector of cosmic radiation. Making it seem to be almost a piece of artwork. Not a piece of the power grid.

Prime leaned back against the solid retaining wall that divided the uneven road surface levels. He had to admit that anything Grapple designed and built was as beautiful as it was practical. "Yes, yes it is Elita One. Almost as beautiful as you," he replied.

At his words the warm wave of emotional attachment flooded through her core. Somehow Optimus could always do that with such a seemingly flippant side comparison. But Elita loved those comments. It made her feel like a whole femme again. For deep inside she had two fears. Two fears that were greater than that of off-lining itself! Her first fear was in having her portal core system activated.. Which would mean she'd get pregnant the next time she bonded; true it was such an irrational fear, it didn't make sense. But she just didn't want to get pregnant, and that was that.

The bigger fear was based off the first. For as femme after femme took leave from the ranks in order to have their sparklings, Elita saw the happiness in their mech's optics.. The pride the males had in their sparklings. She'd glance at Prime then. And wonder when he'd demand to feel the same? And when she refused and cowered away, would he leave her to find a willing femme?

This was the basis for the reason she didn't get along with the former whores. They were all so beautiful.. All so confident in their bondualality.. Unafraid and eager to explore pleasure to it's fullest.. It's most erotic.. Not afraid to get pregnant.. To have sparklings by the dozens..

The worst one was Chromia. She was everything Elita was and so much more. For eons, she'd been a leader. She'd trained and protected multitudes of young dancers on the mean streets of that Metropolis. And in her very first true battle with the cons, the femme had driven fearlessly towards Megatron, without even a single weapon… She had fought next to Prime.. Elita's Prime.. And impressed him to no end! Elita could see the respect that Optimus and the other mechs' had for those darned whores. Respect that was actually well-earned… But this realization did little to dampen the facts – she was jealous of Chromia.. She was afraid Optimus would one day look that femme's way.

"Why don't you go back and try again Elita? Ultra Magnus has got them well in-hand now," Optimus said softly as he squeezed her. He wanted so desperately for every Autobot to get along. And the dancers were Autobots now – weren't they? So it didn't look good for one of the top-level commanders to be unable to work with them.

Elita snorted, "The whores are probably playing him Prime." She narrowed her optics. She was just certain that there was something more than just 'training' going on between the mechs and the whores… How else could Ultra Magnus be getting them to behave?!

Rolling his optics, Optimus knew it was going to be an uphill battle to get Elita to back down a bit. But she needed to. Sometimes he really wished that she wasn't so afraid to get pregnant. For every femme he'd known who had become a mother had changed for the better. They were calmer, more self-confident, and had more patience afterward. And Primus, did Elita need to develop some of those traits! "Tomorrow they'll be competing in an obstacle course. Each femme and mech partner against the others.. Perhaps we should consider having some fun and join them?" he mused.

Giving him a side glance, Elita knew he wasn't going to back down from forcing her to TRY and get along with the whores. And he wasn't going to take no for an answer this time. He just didn't understand how obnoxious and obscene those femmes were! But if he was volunteering to be her 'partner' in this, then she'd get some satisfaction of seeing HIM blow up on those dratted femmes when their vocalizers started up! "Ok then," she stated, her voice telling him she really didn't want to.

Glad that Elita was at least going to humor him and try again, Prime looked up at the beautiful tower. One day cycle he'd convince her to humor him – and get pregnant… One day cycle…

--

"So what's this?" Flare-up asked as she walked into their quarters. She scanned the mess with critical optics, her optics narrowing even further as they fell on the two filthy mechs lounging and joking together on their couch.

Cliffjumper looked up as he finished sipping some energon. "Oh, well we're half-way done now. Do you like it?" he asked with a nod towards the destroyed wall. He chuckled as he made a comment under his breath to the mech next to him.

The mech grinned and nodded. His facemask off and laying next to him as he also replenished his energy reserves. It was an unusual sight to see his bare face, and he was actually quite good looking. "Sorry 'bout the mess Flare-up," he apologized.

She strode up to the two, not worried in the least about their quarters being trashed. What bothered her was their filthy afts on her brand-new rubber couch! "I come home, to find my mate sitting here on the couch all giggles, with your facemask off." Her tone insinuated that she thought they might be doing something more than taking a 'work break'.

The two mechs looked at each other in shock. Then proceeded to slide as far away from each other as they could, while still staying on the couch… "Nah, it's not like that.. gross.." Cliffjumper stammered. First Aid also making nauseated expressions as he considered the insinuation as well.

Flare-up snorted, "You two have always got your freagin' metas in the gutter!! Shame on you! And get your filthy afts of my couch – now!" With that she cuffed both of them hard.

Diving out of her way, Cliffjumper landed on his side and rolled away from her. "It's my couch to--" he started to argue. But was cut off as one of his sledgehammers was thrown his way… Ducking, he joined First Aid as he fled from the room.

A screwdriver hit him in the back of his helm before the door could slide shut behind him. His air vents gasped for oxygen as he leaned against the corridor's wall. His audios still able to pick up Flare-up's griping as she cleaned the mess off 'her' couch… Then giggling filled his audios.. Glancing across the hall, his optics met First Aid's.

First Aid lay against the wall. He'd hit it hard when he'd leapt through the barely-opened door to get away from the furious femme. Now, listening to her muffled grumbles he couldn't help but think of what a hysterical scene it must have been. Two full-grown mechs, running like sparklings from a small femme! His giggles turned into chuckles.. Then his chassis began to shake as waves of laughter rolled over him..

Cliffjumper cocked his head, curious as to why his buddy was laughing so hard. Then he too saw the humor in the situation. Falling on the floor, he joined First Aid's wails of laughter.

"Now why are ya'll laughing like cyberhyenas in the common area?" Ironhide's voice interrupted their wails.

Trying to stop laughing, the two mechs pointed at each other and babbled that the other'd been chased out of their quarters by a mere femme. Then they accused each other of lying.. Then fell back down snickering again.

Ironhide sighed in exacerbation as he looked from one to the other. His quarters were right across the way and he'd never get a wink of defrag if they kept this up! He had been headed to the wash bays in the next building, and from the looks of it, these two needed a powerspray far worse than he did. Perhaps if he set the water on cold, it'd get their darned metas to reset and they'd finally quit laughing? So grabbing each of the smaller mechs, he nonchalantly threw them over his shoulder armor and carried the laughing mechs out of the building.

--

"Ok! Ok! Quit! I'm reset…" Cliffjumper shrieked as Ironhide hit him with another blast of frigid water. The slogger hadn't even turned on the hot water – frag him!

First Aid was likewise writhing and shivering as he tried to escape the powerful streams of cold water. But Ironhide had thrown them both into the same wash bay, and the taller mech was apparently enjoying their discomfort. His smirk getting bigger and bigger…

"So you little freagers going to shut your vocalizers now – or do I need to add some liquid nitrogen to the mix?" he taunted.

"Yes… Yes sir!" They both responded in unison. Then shrieked as he powersprayed them one more time for good measure…

"I thought you said you'd quit – you freagin' slogger!" Cliffjumper shrieked as he danced in the cold spray.

Ironhide chuckled as he finally shut off the water. "Just a little reminder…" he chuckled.

He tossed them some drying cloths and leaned back against the bay's cement wall while they dried themselves off. They were now shiny and clean, like proper Autobots should be. "So why'd ya'll get kicked out of your quarters like that?" he asked as he cocked his head in curiosity.

Cliffjumper was rubbing off his leg armor. "Femmes," he said without even looking up.

First Aid grinned as he was whisking the water off his chest plate. "Tell me about it, buddy. I don't even have one – and I'm chased out by one!" he agreed, his blue optics bright with humor.

Ironhide looked from one to the other in amusement. Deep inside, he'd always wanted to have the same problem.. But sadly, he was still single. And too darned shy to approach the one femme he had a secret crush on.. Primus! Training side-by-side with her was driving him to glitches! But he still couldn't fathom how to talk to her – other than as a comrade. Maybe these two could give him some pointers?! They were used to these dancer femmes weren't they? Would know everything about them…

Slapping the two on their shoulder armor, Ironhide gave them a comradely hug. "Why don't I buy us a round of energon?" he offered.

Shrugging, the two smaller mechs figured it'd be better to burn a few astrohours at a local energon bar – than to dare enter their quarters again until the femme calmed down. So they followed Ironhide down the street….

--

_**Note: **__sorry, been a tad fixated on my Red Alert story.. I'll try to remember to write a new chapter for this one every now-and-then…_

_--_

Please review…


	6. Courage

Courage

**Courage**

"Now we'll activate your portal system this evening. That's when we'll transfer the spark to you," Ratchet explained in his matter-of-fact way. He had stood next to First Aid throughout the exam process, making sure that his protégée was following protocol. And since First Aid was going to be one of the mechs involved in creating the spark that would be transferred, Ratchet would be overseeing everything this evening.

Cliffjumper and Flare-up nodded their understanding as the small red mech helped his mate relatch her armor. They'd been very happy when Bumblebee had informed them that he and First Aid were paying for Ratchet to be supervising this surrogate pregnancy. Having the senior medical officer there, really gave them a sense of security.

"Um, make sure you don't take a major hit or fall until we confirm that you are carrying the spark. You could accidentally flip the switch back to off without even realizing it," First Aid added. His blue optics locking with Flare-up's, silently promising her that he would be as concerned about her health as her own mate was – since it would be his sparkling she'd be carrying.

"First Aid's correct. It's been known to happen. Femmes have had accidental pregnancies as well as lost pregnancies because they took a major hit. You may consider taking desk duty for the first fourteen day cycles after transfer. I can write you a recommendation," Ratchet informed her as he pulled out his electronic tablet and began to write out his recommendation.

Flare-up really didn't want to do desk duty for that long, but if this is what she had to do in order to become a mother – she'd do it. So, nodding her agreement, she watched as Ratchet sent the medical recommendation for change of duties via email to Ultra Magnus.

"Well, at least you'll get to do the obstacle course today!" Cliffjumper chuckled. She'd been talking about it for several cycles now, and with Sunstreaker as her training partner, Cliffjumper doubted that anyone could beat them.

"Are you coming to watch?" she asked him as she slid off the exam table and shook Ratchet's hand in thanks.

"I think we all are," Cliffjumper said with a smile. He nodded towards First Aid and Bumblebee, whom nodded their agreement to his statement.

Ratchet narrowed his optics. These young couples should be more concerned with the coming challenges of the pregnancy and resulting sparkling – than watching the femme 'have fun'. But at least the impulsive femme had agreed to desk duty starting tomorrow. "Well, don't do anything stupid," he warned her as he left First Aid's med bay. He'd hate to have to repair her before he activated her port system!

"Does he ever chill out?" Flare-up asked Bumblebee. She did respect the senior medic for his knowledge – but his berthside manner sucked.

"Nope, you'll get used to it," the yellow mech answered with a shrug.

"Just don't do anything stupid to get yourself damaged – It'll hurt when he gets done fixing you," Cliffjumper snickered as he threw his hands on top of his helm and danced around as if he'd suffered a major hit.

--

Ironhide felt the nervous butterflies fly through his core as he drove towards the training grounds. Cliffjumper had told him to just be straight up with the light blue femme. _"Sloggers Ironhide – just ask her out!" the small red mech had teased as he took a sip of energon. _Ironhide grinned sarcastically as he remembered. The little freager made it sound so slaggin' easy! But Ironhide HAD tried to do that very thing a few day cycles ago.. His vocalizer seized up right in the middle of the sentence – making him look like such a total dolt! He gotten – 'Chromia, you want to – ' out, but as he had hesitated, her training partner, Sideswipe, had grinned and finished it for him.

Yes, his 'asking her out' had turned into 'Chromia, you want to hang out with us?' – and he'd been stuck that night 'hanging out' with the femme and the twins. Yes, they'd had fun playing a game of laser tag. But he got stuck with Sunstreaker for a partner. Not exactly a romantic date by any means.

Gulping down his trepidation, Ironhide willed himself to have the courage to flat out ask the femme on a date today! He couldn't stand just training with her anymore. He wanted to get to know her better. Maybe get her to like him for more than a friend! Transforming, he strolled into the locker room where the training troop was getting ready for the day's activities..

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe glanced up as they spied the red mech strolling in. Shifting their optics, they locked with each other, both knowing exactly what the other was thinking. They'd already decided that eventually they'd talk Chromia into a threesome – and prove to her that 'smaller' mechs were far superior to 'bigger' mechs in that regard. So in a sense, they considered her 'their territory' now. She just didn't know it yet.

Both of them had also easily spotted the infatuation that Ironhide had with the femme. So now it had turned into a game for them. Not only to get Chromia interested in THEM – but to thwart Ironhide's pathetic attempts to even ask the femme out. Of course, without either Chromia or Ironhide realizing what they were doing! The twins enjoyed the challenge immensely – and looked forward to it every day cycle..

They could tell from the serious look on Ironhide's visage, that he was determined to actually ask Chromia out this time. With a sly glance at his brother, Sideswipe slid off the bench and fell in behind the red mech. Sunstreaker also slid off the bench and cut Ironhide off from his direct path towards Chromia. He distracted Ironhide by engrossing him in a conversation about the course they were going to do today. Sideswipe came up from behind and smacked the mech in a comradely fashion on his aft and told him 'good luck in beating us!'. With that, he nonchalantly waltzed away. Sunstreaker finished his conversation with him shortly, and went back to his bench to layer another protective coat of wax on his gleaming armor.

Glad that the two mechs were finally busy with other things, Ironhide puffed himself up and headed towards Chromia again. The beautiful femme was deeply engrossed in a conversation with FireStar about something, so as he came up to them, he just patiently stood there, waiting for them to finish up. Sheepishly, he couldn't help but stare at the blue femme.

Chromia looked up at him and was about to ask him if he needed something, when Flare-up waltzed up. The younger femme stared at something on Ironhide's back, got a crazed grin on her face, and swiftly kicked his aft as hard as she could. The startled mech crashed into Chromia as he went flying over the bench she was sitting on. Crashing to the concrete floor in a clang of metal plating, he yelped in shock.

"What the slag did you do THAT for?!" Chromia asked the younger femme.

Flare-up pointed to the sign taped to Ironhide's aft, which read: _Kick me for good luck. _"I was just getting some luck," she chuckled as she turned and waltzed off.

Chromia and FireStar looked down at the mech who was trying to right himself. Breaking into hysterical shrieks of laughter, they both kicked him in his aft as well.

Now cursing, Ironhide reached behind him and ripped it from his aft. Staggering to his feet, he glared at Sideswipe as he leapt over the two laughing femmes and went after the black-helmed mech. "I'm going to fill your tail pipes with some liquid nitrogen when I catch you – you little punk!" he yelled as he began to chase Sideswipe around the locker room. He almost had his hands on the freager, when his legs suddenly went out from under him. Landing on his face again, he rolled and caught Sunstreaker's leg before the yellow mech could move away. "Kickin' my legs out from under me?! You are so screwed you little punk! You and your evil twin!" he growled as he threw the yellow mech across the locker room.

The femmes and the other mechs scattered out of the way, as Ironhide and Sunstreaker went at it. "You scratched my paint job – you dolt!" the yellow mech shrieked as he looked down at his scratched chest armor. Jumping on top of Ironhide, he became nothing but a blur of fists.

Suddenly, Ironhide went flying one direction and Sunstreaker the other. They crashed against the lockers on opposite sides of the locker room.

"I don't know what's going on between you two – but it stops now!" Ultra Magnus yelled. He and Optimus stood there, side-by-side, each one glaring at a smaller mech.

Elita One stood at the entrance; her mouth agape in disbelief, for it was the MECHS causing disorder this time. Not the whores.

"Those freagers taped a slaggin' sign to my aft!" Ironhide griped as he slowly picked himself up from the ground. His entire chassis hurt now. Granted, being thrown as hard as Prime could throw you – generally had that effect on a mech. But he couldn't help but glare at Sunstreaker, his optics promising that this wasn't over by any means.

"I didn't, I was just protecting my brother you piece of slag!" Sunstreaker shot back. Now he was really pissed, and really covered with scratches! Ironhide wasn't going to get out of this one that easy! "And you freagin' scratched my paint job!" he yelled at Ultra Magnus.

That last comment was not a smart one. The big blue mech swiftly grabbed him again and sent him sailing through the air in the other direction. "Keep it up and you'll need an entirely NEW paint job!" he threatened as Sunstreaker crashed against the lockers again.

Sunstreaker pulled himself back upright by a bench and was about to shoot off another retort, when femme snickers silenced him.

"When you YOUNGLINGS are finally ready – we'll meet you at the obstacle course," Chromia snickered as she and the other femmes calmly marched out the door.

"Perhaps those two like a little abuse before they bond?" Arcee's comment floated back to them.

The seven mechs and one Autobot femme stared at each other with their mouths open. Ironhide's face went as red as his paintjob, as did Sunstreaker's. They stared at each other in disbelief. Did the femmes actually think THEY bonded with each other?! Gross!!

Suddenly, everybody fell in line and peace was restored.

"So this is what you mean by 'keeping a sense of humor'?" Optimus asked Ultra Magnus. His optics fell on the door; he was completely amazed at how swiftly Chromia and Arcee had restored order by just making snide comments. Granted, that last one was a bit off-color, but it had been very effective at calming the two enraged mechs down in the blink of an optic.

"Yes it is," Ultra Magnus agreed. He still glared at the two mechs. Their punishment for this little issue - was far from over.

"Their style is highly effective," Optimus noted. His optics gleamed in respect for the craftiness of Chromia.

"It can be," his friend agreed.

Shortly, all the mechs filed out of the locker room, heading for the obstacle course. One femme was with them. Silently seething.. Silently cursing Chromia for impressing her mate yet again…

--

Please review…


	7. Accidents do Happen

**Accidents do happen – don't they?**

"Perhaps that's not a wise decision," Optimus commented to her. But his optics were still locked on the action down on the training grounds. His digits clenched and unclenched a bit, everytime the blue femme and Sideswipe made it past an obstacle unscathed.

Elita saw the slight movement, and knowing her mate as well as she did, she knew it was how he reacted when he was actually getting into watching something exciting. Only this time, it was that damned whore – not some cyber-football! Her optics narrowed as she followed his gaze down to the training pairs down below them. Chromia and Sideswipe were currently on top of the scoreboard, having not only laser tagged each of the other teams at least once – but also making it through each and every obstacle. Their style and seamless teamwork should have impressed her as their commanding officer. And the fact that the mech involved was Sideswipe, who always trained with his gladiator twin, should've made it a reasonable expectation to have of the pair. But she just couldn't get past the fact that it was Chromia who was involved…. Chromia who was showing off… Chromia who was impressing her mate..

With a snort, she grabbed Ultra Magnus's arm and began to drag him towards the door. She fully intended to show the trainee's – and Chromia – that they were inferior to trained troops! "You keep score then. I think they need a little surprise." She glanced back at Optimus. "After all, there's a good chance they will face superior forces – not equal forces – in a REAL battle!"

Her brother shot Optimus a helpless look as she dragged him along. Prime just shrugged his shoulders and nodded. Both of them knew that particular tone of voice, and there would be no changing the femme's meta on this one.

"Elita One, I don't think this is really necessary," Ultra Magnus said.

Roughly grabbing one of the practice laser guns, Elita jerked it off the wall and thrust it into his hands. "They might meet Megatron. We can never let them think they're doing fine when the situation might change unexpectedly – now can we? My sweet older brother…"

She'd busted him with the very words he'd used when training her so long ago. He knew it – she knew it. But THAT was not the reason she wanted to do this. Magnus was sure of it. He could see the jealousy all over her face plate. "What do you have against them? Well, besides the fact that they're a bit rough around the edges."

Turning her back to him, she reached up and pulled another training weapon off the wall of the locker room. "Nothing," she purred.

Ok, Elita never 'purred' unless she was up to something that she didn't want to admit. Ultra Magnus grabbed her by an arm and forced her to look at him. "You can't lie very well, fess up!"

Jerking her arm away from him, a brief flash of anger blinked in her blue optics before being replaced by her 'poker face plate'. "Like you said – they're rough around the edges." With that, she turned and stomped out.

Ultra Magnus rolled his optics as he followed her. He KNEW that wasn't all she was ticked about – and he was getting a very bad feeling about all this. But what else could he do? Elita had made her meta up. And when that happened – only a stupid mech continued to argue with her. Well, unless you were mated to her that is. Fortunately, that was Optimus's problem – not his.

They entered the darkened training course. Both of them automatically going into stealth mode as they did so… They'd done this many times before… Their moves reflected in the other..

Elita's optics locked with Magnus's, he had now silently made his way across the mock battlefield – without being seen by most of the other teams. Grinning, she threw herself to the ground and rolled behind a low wall. Barely avoiding Ironhide's well-aimed shot; she'd expected that one. Her optics had caught the red flash of his armor as he and his young partner had darted by. Suddenly her gun went black as one of the sensors stuck to her, was pegged by laser fire. Darting around a corner, she glanced up, just in time to see Sideswipe snickering as he ducked back behind the wall he'd been using for cover.

She swore that she had heard the sounds of him and Chromia engaging in a high-five while they ducked back behind a wall. Anger filled her then. Anger that the damned Chromia team had made the first hit! Grinding her jaws together she swore to herself that it would be the only hit they'd get on her!

Nodding to Magnus that she was headed up, Elita knew she had 5 seconds to reposition herself, before the sensors reset and she was back in the game. And WAS she going to be back! Crouching, she used the full force of her hydraulics to propel herself upward, her velocity carried her up to the third level where she quickly grabbed the arm rail and swung herself over. Her gun came back online as her thrusters touched the metal grating, rolling in a blur, she kept from getting pegged again as she sought cover.

She sensed, more than heard, her brother as he slid up the ramp towards her chosen quarry. If she hadn't been so mad at that point, perhaps she'd have once again found herself amazed at just how silently the big mech could move when he wanted to. But she was too focused on Chromia for such flippant thoughts. Too angry at all the perceived insults and insinuated threats that she felt the light blue femme had shot her way.

Rolling in order to avoid a well-aimed shot by Arcee, she turned and returned fire just as she flipped over. A smirk crossed her face plate as Bluestreak's sensor went dark. "Well, got one of your freagin' partners!" she muttered. In a rapid fire sequence – she managed to peg Arcee with one as well.

With them out of her way, she nonchalantly jumped over them as she made her way towards her true quarry. She and Magnus would trap them between them. Knock them both out for a few seconds for sure. Racing around the sharp turns, she ducked and darted, easily avoiding shots from those above her. Returning a few when she found the opportunity.

Leaping across the central opening, she darted under cover as the swinging pendulum just barely missed her. These dangerous obstacles were nothing to an experienced soldier like herself! Nothing to even blink an optic at! She'd been through far worse on the real battlefield… Far worse…

Keeping her steps quiet and crouching under the cover of the wall, Elita swiftly made it to a new position. Huddling against the wall, she peeked out, trying to spot one of the others. A flash of gold caught her optic as Sunstreaker darted under her, too fast for her to draw a bead on him. Chuckling, she caught site of his partner – and pegged Flare-up before he could even warn her to watch out.

Satisfaction flowed through her as she heard the arrogant mech berate the young femme for her carelessness. Sunstreaker was a sore loser at best. And now with not only his twin beating him – but Magnus and Elita as well – the ex-gladiator was getting a tad miffed. Well, that and the damage he'd incurred to his paint job in the locker room…. Needless to say, it made Elita's day cycle to hear him getting mad with one of the whores! About time!

As the femme's gun deactivated, Sunstreaker looked up to see who'd tagged her. This caused his shoulder sensor to be exposed for a brief second. Giving Elita enough of an opening to pay him back for just being who he was. Shooting through the grating, she snickered as Sunstreaker looked around him when his gun deactivated. His cursing increased as he realized that he'd just been sucker-shot. Elita's smirk grew as she continued along her path towards her true quarry – Chromia.

Out of the corner of her optics, a flash of red on the fourth level caught her attention. Throwing herself to the side, she barely avoided a hit from Ironhide. Then she was leaping through the air again, crossing the open space and making a grab for the rail on the fourth level. Ironhide managed to peg her as she flipped up over the rail – right about the time that the swinging pendulum clipped her. Throwing herself out of its way, she gripped her stinging shoulder with her other hand for a brief moment. That had been a very close call indeed! She felt a little warm wetness, but not much. So damage had been minor at best… Nothing for her to worry about..

Then her optics caught a flash of light blue…

The chase was on! Elita took her 5 seconds of deactivation, to run around the walk way, trying to get to the blue femme's position. Grinning as she got a bead on her, she finally managed to peg her right as her gun reactivated. Unable to slow down, she ended up tumbling over Chromia, crashing into Sideswipe just as Magnus rounded the corner and pegged him. With a muttered curse, the red mech staggered backwards, going right over the rail and back down to the first level, along with Elita.

Twisting like a cat, Sideswipe grabbed the pendulum and used its momentum to swing him over to the other side. He landed lightly on his peds, his gun suddenly deactivated as he got pegged. Rolling to cover, he caught sight of the big blue mech ducking back under cover on the second level. Snickering at his sneaky commander, he darted quietly under his position. As he stalked Ultra Magnus, he pegged him through the grating from below. Sideswipe then took his five second break to leap down and tackle the big mech, using him as cover when Sunsteaker came around the corner aiming at him.

"Sneaky bastard!" Ultra Magnus yelled, as Sideswipe tripped him up and pegged his twin. Spinning, Magnus caught his legs with his own, bringing the smaller red mech down. Stepping on his gun, he pegged him right in the chest.

"Calling me sneaky?" he joked. Grabbing his leg with his other hand, he tripped the bigger mech and sent him stumbling across the level. "Of course I am," he snickered. Rolling, the red mech found cover in another section of the maze.

Suddenly, a red mech tumbled from the top level. Bluestreak looking over the rail with a mischievous grin on his face plate. Unlike Sideswipe, Ironhide wasn't quick enough to land on his peds – he ended up landing on his head. Then his gun deactivated, as the femme he had a crush on - took the opportunity to peg him.

Snickering at his partner's tactics, Sideswipe ran up the ramp back to the first level with her at his side. Weaving to try to keep the pursuing Elita from pegging them both again; suddenly, they were both deactivated, as Bluestreak and Firestar got them both. Grinning, Sideswipe nodded to Chromia and put his hands together next to the rail. Taking his offer, she ran towards him, put a ped in his hands – then the ground mech hefted her into the air.

Grabbing the top of the rail on the fifth level, Chromia kept herself from hitting the ceiling. Shaking her head in amazement at the sheer power of her partner's racing hydraulics, she quickly dropped and rolled, avoiding Elita's shot. Darting around the level, she got a bead on the femme – but before she could fire, the femme leapt into the air and crashed into her full force.

Both femmes went tumbling over the rail. Chromia was quick enough to grab a rail and pull herself out of harm's way. But Elita was not so lucky. She crashed into the swinging pendulum. The sickening sound of shredding metal filled the training arena. A spark wrenching scream filled the air, as the torn femme was thrown off the pendulum at its zenith. Energon sprayed the rails as she tumbled helplessly by them and crashed in a silent heap on the floor below.

"Elita no!" Ultra Magnus screamed. Throwing his gun to the ground, he transformed and barreled down to the bottom level, crashing right through several of the other training pairs. Leaving tire tracks right across Sunstreaker's hood as well.. All he could think of was his sister at that point.. Damaged severely and laying there in a heap.

Optimus, Cliffjumper, Bumblebee and First Aid were already flying down the stairs from the observation deck. They reached Elita just as the others did.

Prime fell to his knee armor, his digits running over her chassis.. She had almost been torn in half! Her spark chamber was not only exposed – but cracked as well. He then felt hands pulling him away from her. He began to fight against them. But Ultra Magnus was his equal in strength.

"Let the medic help her Prime. Let First Aid do what he's trained to do!" the big blue mech yelled at him.

First Aid was down next to her, Bumblebee at his side. Already his hands were within her, desperately tying off torn energon lines. Desperately trying to stabilize her! "Please, someone get Ratchet!" he ordered as he worked. He had dealt with worse when he was Droct the garbage mech. But she was still very, very critical. And she was Optimus's mate… He didn't want her life resting in his hands… He wasn't ready for that kind of responsibility! He'd do what he could to stabilize her…. Do what he could…

Magnus reached out and grabbed Chromia's shoulder. "Go fetch Ratchet!" he ordered as he gave her a rough push. His attention turned from her as he circled his brother-in-law with his arms. Both of them comforting the other as they watched the young medic working frantically to save her….

-----

_A few astrohours later....._

"How is she?" Optimus asked Ratchet. He hovered next to Elita, her limp hand in his.

Ratchet wiped the energon off of his hands, his voice steady. "She'll recover." His optics shifted to his tired apprentice medic. "Thanks to First Aid's quick action to stabilize her," he said. With that, the stalwart medic walked off.

But the compliment was obvious. First Aid's cheeks went a shade darker and his internal temperature heated up as the two Autobot leaders turned their optics to him. The timid mech wanted to crawl under the exam table he was leaning on. "Um, it was nothing, really. I, um, owe you mechs a lot more," he stammered. He didn't like being the center of attention. He never had.

Magnus walked up to him and pulled him into a huge mech hug. "No First Aid – we owe YOU!" he exclaimed.

-------

Little did anyone realize…. But that hard hit had flipped a certain switch within the femme commander…. A switch that she'd never in her life – wanted to be flipped…..

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_Note: Sorry it's been a while. But my muse has been locked on the Market Comodity series I've been publishing on AdultFanFiction. I'm still kind've stuck on it. _


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